MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Eagles split a nonconference midweek doubleheader with Mobile Tuesday at Mike Jacobs Field.
FAULKNER 5, MOBILE 2
Caden Whatley earned his first varsity start and proved he deserved it. The former JV pitcher worked his way into a midweek start and allowed just two earned runs over 4.1 innings with just 46 pitches needed, allowing the defense to work around him and shut down the Rams.
Faulkner poured it on early, scoring four runs in the first the first five batters reached, allowing 2-0 lead before the first out of the game was recorded with
Jimmy Perez and
Carter Schellsmidt driving in runs.
CJ Robertson drove in a bases loaded walk and
Shaun Bridges hit a sac fly to make it 4-0, allowing the Prattville native to take the mound for his start with a big lead.
A single, steal, and error allowed a run to score for Mobile, but Whatley got a double play ball to
Anthony Bassett Torres and a popup to Bridges to get out with a 4-1 lead.
Whatley needed just seven pitches to get three outs in the second, 11 to get through the third, and four in the fourth.
In the fifth, Perez started a two-out rally with a single. Schellsmidt walked and Bassett drove Perez home to make it 5-1.
A couple of singles and a walk loaded the bases for Mobile in the bottom of the fifth and
Avery Shelton came in to try to get out of the mess. A single to left was kept in front and limited the damage to just one run where Shelton made the Rams pay for it on the next batter, getting the second 6-4-3 double play to end the inning for Faulkner with a three-run lead.
Mobile put the pressure on in the seventh. After a leadoff single,
Bracken Rice was able to get two flyouts to right, but Mobile rallied down to its last out. Another single and a walk loaded the bases and brought the tying run to the plate.
Patrick McCarthy turned to the bullpen again and called on
Collin Rittenberry to close it out. Rittenberry threw one pitch and got a flyball to deep center field that
Jordan Carter hawked down for the final out. Rittenberry picked up his fourth save in four relief appearances.
The seven win streak tied the effort in 2024.
MOBILE 9, FAULKNER 4
Faulkner spotted Mobile five runs in the first inning with three free passes before a double scored two. A sacrifice fly scored another and a single made it four. After an error and a single,
Marshall Robinson took the mound and was able to close the door around a bunt single.
Robinson would sit down the next nine batters before allowing a single in the fourth to break the run, but the Clarksville, Tenn. native got the next guy to pop out to get the bats to Faulkner where they started a comeback effort.
Orlando Arellano doubled and
Seth Copeland was hit by a pitch with one out in the fifth before Dariel Colón lifted a three run homer to left field to cut the deficit to two. It was his second of the season. Mobile turned to a new pitcher who walked Edrien Martinez and
Jordan Carter putting the tying run aboard and forcing Mobile Coach Kyle Friday to go to another option in the pen where Macks Bishop awaited.
Jimmy Perez missed an extra bases hit just a few feet foul down the left field line before an unlucky flyout put two outs on the board. Bassett's batted ball carried a long way but held up long enough to end the inning with a 5-3 Mobile lead.
In the bottom of the fifth,
CJ Robertson made a highlight reel catch to prevent an extra-base RBI for the second out and
Trevor Hamil coaxed a popup into the expansive foul territory behind home that
Seth Copeland caught to keep it a two-run deficit.
Adrian Salas hit a grand slam with two strikes and two outs to push the game out of reach for Mobile. Bassett drove in Colón in the seventh, but two runners were left on when the game ended.
The Eagles travel to Tifton, Ga. to take on Abraham Baldwin in their next SSAC series. The two teams are tied for second in the SSAC standings, just one game behind William Carey.
